India opener Mayank Agarwal has been backed to continue his international improvement by Ashish Nehra.
The former left-arm pace bowler was impressed with Agarwal’s showing in New Zealand and thinks his performances there bode well for the future.
There were other bright batting moments for India in the series, including Prithvi Shaw, Hanuma Vihari and Cheteshwar Pujara hitting half-centuries in Christchurch.
However, it was Agarwal that was singled out for praise by the former international.
Despite failing to fire for India in Christchurch, his 34 and 58 in Wellington caught the eye of Nehra due to the tricky conditions.
“It takes time and New Zealand is not an easy place,” Nehra said on the Cricket Connected Show on Star Sports.
“With my experience, for batters, the most difficult place on this planet when it comes to cricket-playing nations is New Zealand.
“New Zealand has always been tough, so Mayank Agarwal, I am sure he has learnt a lot from the New Zealand tour. And it was not only for him, and for everyone, it was a challenge.”
Agarwal on the rise
Agarwal, 29, has continued to make strides on the international scene since his debut against Australia in the 2018-19 season. He has now recorded 974 runs from 11 Test matches, including three centuries.
He finally got his chance after his brilliant Ranji Trophy season in 2017-18 and Nehra believes can now kick on again after learning from the Black Caps challenge.
“He has shown promise, there is no doubt about it. And it’s early days in his career, you have to give everyone time,” Nehra added.
“He has done really well in domestic games and India-A and that’s how he got his chance. He is not somebody who has been playing domestic cricket for one or two years and suddenly he comes to the scene. He has scored a lot of runs and am sure with time he will get better and better.”
Agarwal will next be in action for KXIP when the Indian Premier League gets underway in September. He will then head to Australia as India tour at the end of the year.
